Oscar 2004: Foreign-Language Film Entries
by Andre Soares
Of the 49 films submitted for the 2004 Best Foreign-Language Film Oscar, 2 are from North America, 6 from South America, 2 from Africa, 12 from Asia, and 27 from Europe.
This is the first time that Malaysia has submitted a film for the Oscars. Puteri gunung ledang / A Legendary Love, the story of the forbidden romance between a 15th century Javanese Hindu princess and a Malay Muslim warrior, is the most expensive Malaysian film ever made.
Iran’s Lakposhtha hâm parvaz mikonand / Turtles Can Fly won the Best Picture Golden Shell at the San Sebastián Film Festival. Gianni Amelio’s Le Chiavi di casa / The House Keys was a festival favorite at Venice. Its failure to win any important awards led to an uproar in the Italian press. Mar Adentro (literally, "Out to Sea"), strangely translated as The Sea Inside, won the Grand Jury prize at Venice.
Since arcane Academy rules only allow one film per country, Pedro Almodóvar’s much praised Bad Education (from Spain) is not among the submitted films.
Diarios de motocicleta / The Motorcycle Diaries is another Oscar orphan, as it doesn’t really belong to any one country. The picture was shot in Spanish, but its director is (a Portuguese-speaking) Brazilian, its story is set in different South American countries, and most of its financing came from the (mostly English-speaking) United States.
The submissions for 2004 are:
Afghanistan, "Earth and Ashes," Atiq Rahimi, director;
Argentina, "A Lost Embrace," Daniel Burman, director;
Austria, "Antares," Gotz Spielmann, director;
Belgium, "The Alzheimer Case," Erik Van Looy, director;
Bosnia and Herzegovina, "Days and Hours," Pjer žalica, director;
Brazil, "Olga," Jayme Monjardim, director;
Bulgaria, "Mila from Mars," Zornitsa Sophia, director;
Canada, "Far Side of the Moon," Robert Lapage, director;
Chile, "Machuca," Andrés Wood, director;
China, "House of Flying Daggers," Zhang Yimou, director;
Croatia, "Long Dark Night," Antun Vrdoljak, director;
Czech Republic, "Up and Down," Jan Hrebejk, director;
Denmark, "The Five Obstructions," Jørgen Leth & Lars von Trier, directors;
Ecuador, "Chronicles," Sebastián Cordero, director;
Egypt, "I Love Cinema," Osama Fawzy, director;
Estonia, "Revolution of Pigs," Karlo Funk, director;
Finland, "Producing Adults," Aleksi Salmenperä, director;
France, "The Chorus," Christophe Barratier, director;
Germany, "Downfall," Oliver Hirschbiegel, director;
Greece, "A Touch of Spice," Tassos Boulmetis, director;
Hungary, "Kontroll," Nimród Antal, director;
Iceland, "Cold Light," Hilmar Oddsson, director;
India, "Shwaas," Sandeep Sawant, director;
Iran, "Turtles Can Fly," Bahman Ghobadi, director;
Israel, "Campfire," Joseph Cedar, director;
Italy, "The House Keys," Gianni Amelio, director;
Japan, "Nobody Knows," Hirokazu Kore-eda, director;
Korea, "Tae Guk Gi," Kang Je-gyu, director;
Macedonia, "The Great Water," Ivo Trajikov, director;
Malaysia, "A Legendary Love," Saw Teong Hin, director;
Mexico, "Innocent Voices," Luis Mandoki, director;
The Netherlands, "Simon," Eddy Terstall, director;
Norway, "Hawaii, Oslo," Erik Poppe, director;
Palestine, "The Olive Harvest," Hanna Elias, director;
Philippines, "Crying Ladies," Mark Meily, director;
Poland, "The Welts," Magdalena Piekorz, director;
Portugal, "The Miracle According to Salomé," Mário Barroso, director;
Romania, "Orient-Express," Sergiu Nicolaescu, director;
Russia, "Night Watch," Timolir Bekmambetov, director;
Serbia and Montenegro, "Goose Feather," Ljubiša Samardic, director;
Slovenia, "Beneath Her Window," Metod Pevec, director;
South Africa, "Yesterday," Darrell Roodt, director;
Spain, "The Sea Inside," Alejandro Amenabar, director;
Sweden, "As in Heaven," Kay Pollak, director;
Switzerland, "Mein Name Ist Bach," Dominique de Rivaz, director;
Taiwan, "20 : 30 : 40," Sylvia Chang, director;
Thailand, "The Overture," Itthisoontorn Vichailak, director;
Uruguay, "Whisky," Juan Pablo Rebella, Pablo Stoll, directors;
Venezuela, "Punto y Raya," Elia Schneider, director.
Six films have won both the Foreign Language Film Oscar and another award from the Academy as well: the winner in 2000, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," also won Oscars® for Art Direction, Cinematography and Best Original Score; 1998’s winner, "Life Is Beautiful," also received both the Best Actor Award for its star Roberto Benigni and the Oscar for Best Original Dramatic Score; "Fanny and Alexander," which won in 1983, also won Oscars for Costume Design, Cinematography and Art Direction; "Z," the 1969 winner, also won for Film Editing; "A Man and a Woman," which won in 1966, also won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar; and the 1963 winner, "8 1 / 2," also won an Oscar for Costume Design.
The 77th Academy Award nominations will be announced at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater on Tuesday, January 25, 2005.
Comments
Leave a Reply
Note: All comments are moderated. Different views and opinions are welcome, but abusive/bigoted/flaming comments will NOT be approved. Also, please be aware that the Alternative Film Guide has NO contact information for the talent mentioned in this blog or any information pertaining to or access to distributors'/producers' film prints.
